World Bids Farewell to Luciano Pavarotti Saturday, September 08, 2007 9:52:21 AM
By COLLEEN BARRY
Verdi's "Ave Maria" wafted through Modena's cathedral
on Saturday as the world bade farewell to Luciano Pavarotti with a funeral
close to his classical roots, attended by family, dignitaries and close
friends and followed by admirers around the world.Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of condolence,
which was read out at the start of the service. He said Pavarotti had
"honored the divine gift of music through his extraordinary interpretative
talent."Thousands of people watched the invitation-only
service from a huge television screen erected in Modena's main piazza,
where a recording of the tenor's most famous works boomed outduring two days of public viewing.Pavarotti's white maple casket, covered in sunflowers
-- his favorite -- lay before the altar, with his wife, Nicoletta
Mantovani, looking on. Sitting nearby were Pavarotti's three daughters
from his first marriage.
He died Thursday in his home on Modena's outskirts
after battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year. He was 71 and was
beloved by generations of opera-goers and pop fans alike for his
breathtaking high "Cs" and his hearty renditions of folk songs like "O
Sole Mio," and popular tunes like "My Way."City officials said 87,000 memorial cards had been
handed out to well-wishers.
Admirers signed books of condolences placed by vases
of sunflowers outside the cathedral. The Foreign Ministry said similar
books would be available for signing at Italian embassies and consulates around the
world.
Bulgarian-born soprano Raina Kabaivanska, a fellow
Modena resident who had worked with Pavarotti, cried as she sang the "Ave
Maria" from Verdi's "Otello" as the ceremony began.Tenor Andrea Bocelli was to sing Mozart's "Ave Verum
Corpus" while the Rossini Chorus performed hymns throughout the service,
which was celebrated by Modena Archbishop Benito Cocchi and 18 other
priests.
Pavarotti's body, dressed in a black tuxedo and with
his hands clutching his trademark white handkerchief, had been on public
display inside the cathdral since Thursday night. "He was our Italian flag. He was the best
representation that we could have," said Susy Cavallini, a 43-year-old
Modena resident as she emerged Saturday from the cathedral. "Modena is
known for its cappelletti (a type of tortellini), balsamic vinegar,
Ferrari and Pavarotti. It's a collection of important things that Modena
has given to the world."Among those at the funeral were Premier Romano Prodi
and Italy's culture minister, Francesco Rutelli, Italian film director
Franco Zeffirelli and the former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Also
expected were U2 lead singer Bono, Stephane Lissner, general manager of
Milan's La Scala Opera House, where Pavarotti appeared 140 times, once
receiving boos; and the Metropolitan Opera's former general manager Joe Volpe.
The tenor was to be buried in Montale Rangone
cemetery, near Modena, where members of his family, including his parents
and stillborn son Riccardo, are buried. Pavarotti's classical career, with his imposing
presence, emotional depth and boyish, charming ease all adding to his
technical prowess, was the stuff of opera legend. Mezzo-soprano Cecilia
Bartoli, presenting a new CD in Rome on Friday, recalled the first time
she heard Pavarotti sing, many years ago, at the Metropolitan Opera House.
"I said to myself: God does exist," Bartoli was quoted by the news agency
Ansa as saying.
But his legacy reached beyond the opera houses to reach the masses,
working with fellow opera stars and pop icons alike.
These far-from-the-opera house performances,
including memorable nights under the stars at Rome's ancient Baths of
Caracalla with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo, in the "Three Tenors"
concert, rescued musical art from highbrow obscurity. Pavarotti was the best-selling classical artist, with
more than 100 million records sold since the 1960s, and he had the first
classical album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts. That Pavarotti -- a divorced man who had a child out
of wedlock -- was given public viewing and a funeral in the cathedral
spurred some debate here. A Modena parish priest, the Rev. Giorgio Bellei,
told Corriere della Sera that the move amounted to "profanation of the
temple." Other critics noted that last year the church refused to grant a
religious funeral to a paralyzed man who had a doctor disconnect his
respirator.Funeral director Gianni Gibellini said Bellei should
have "kept his mouth sewn shut" and that the Modena bishop had approved
the funeral plans.
Thousands Pay Respects to Pavarotti
Saturday, September 08, 2007 6:29:51 AM
By COLLEEN BARRY and TRISHA THOMAS 
Recordings of Luciano Pavarotti's voice boomed out in
Modena's main piazza on Saturday as mourners waited to pay their final
respects to the tenor before an invitation-only funeral in his hometown's
cathedral.
Some well-wishers waited under the large loudspeakers
erected in Piazza Grande, arms crossed and eyes closed, as they listened
to the voice that was as much at home in the world's great opera houses as
it was on stage with rock stars.
Pavarotti's body, dressed in a black tuxedo and with
his hands clutching his trademark white handkerchief, went back on view at
dawn Saturday. The cathedral was to remain open to the public until just before the
mid-afternoon start of the funeral service, which was being televised
live. "He was our Italian flag. He was the best
representation that we could have," said Susy Cavallini, a 43-year-old
Modena resident as she emerged from the cathedral. "Modena is known for
its cappelletti (a type of tortellini), balsamic vinegar, Ferrari and
Pavarotti. It's a collection of important things that Modena has given to
the world." Admirers signed a book of condolences placed by a
vase of sunflowers -- Pavarotti's favorite -- outside the cathedral. The
Foreign Ministry said similar books of condolences would be available to
well-wishers around the world at Italian embassies and
consulates. The opera great died Thursday in his home on Modena's
outskirts after battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year. He was 71
and was beloved by generations of opera-goers and pop fans. RAI state television said that some 50,000 people had
filed by the coffin since Thursday in a final outpouring of love before
the dignitaries and fellow artists were to take their place in the pews of
the Romanesque cathedral for the funeral.
Fellow Modena resident, Bulgarian-born soprano Raina
Kabaivanska, and tenor Andrea Bocelli, both of whom have sung with
Pavarotti, will be among those singing during the service, Modena's city
hall said. Among those expected to come were former U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U2 lead singer Bono, Italian film director
Franco Zefirelli and Italian Premier Romano Prodi. Stephane Lissner --
general manager of Milan's La Scala Opera House, where Pavarotti appeared
140 times, once receiving boos -- and the Metropolitan Opera's former
general manager Joe Volpe also were to attend.
Members of the Juventus soccer team -- Pavarotti's
favorite -- were to carry the flag into the cathedral at the start of the
service, which was being celebrated by Modena Bishop Benito Cocchi.
Following the service, the Italian air force's acrobatic pilots were to
fly over the cathedral, Pavarotti's manager said. The pope was expected to
send a message of condolence, Vatican officials said.
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World
Mourns Italian Tenor Pavarotti Thursday, September 06, 2007 6:11:07
AM By ARIEL DAVID Friends and admirers of Luciano Pavarotti joined in a
chorus of grief as the world paid homage to the thrilling voice and
exuberant personality of the great Italian tenor who died
Thursday. Amid an outpouring of tributes, the Vienna State
Opera raised a black flag in mourning and his northern Italian hometown of
Modena, where he died at age 71 after a long battle with pancreatic
cancer, said it would name the city's theater after its native son.
Newscasts and Web sites across the globe, from Israel
to the U.S. to Europe, led with news of his death. Radio stations aired
his unmistakable recordings in tribute to his memory.
"The whole world will be listening today to his voice
on every radio and television station. And that will continue. And that is
his legacy. He will never stop," said conductor Zubin Mehta, who directed
Pavarotti in Rome and Los Angeles for his "Three Tenors" concerts with
Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
"I
always
admired the God-given glory of his voice -- that unmistakable special
timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range," Domingo
said in a statement from Los Angeles. "They threw away the mold when
they made Luciano. He will always be remembered as a truly unique performer
in the annals of classical music."< /font >
Carreras told reporters in Karlstad, Sweden, that
"there is no doubt that he has been one of the most important tenors of
all times."
"I
remember that last time I was visiting him in his town in Modena, at his
home, he was preparing some special bread and tomato for me together with
prosciutto. He was entertaining also in the gastronomic aspect that he
liked very much," Carreras said. "We have to remember him as the great
artist that he was, the man with such a wonderful charismatic personality,
very good friend and a great poker player." Mirella Freni, an opera great and one of Pavarotti's
close childhood friends, told The Associated Press: "The world has lost a
great tenor, but I've lost a great friend, a brother. We grew up together,
studied singing and God blessed us with great careers. I've lost a
brother." For fans and colleagues, the beauty of Pavarotti's
voice and his charismatic performances made him the ideal interpreter of
the Italian lyric repertory, especially in the 1960s and '70s when he
first achieved stardom. "It was incredible to stand next to it and sing along
with it," soprano Joan Sutherland said of Pavarotti's voice at the
time.
A
14-week tour of Australia with Sutherland and her husband, conductor
Richard Bonynge, gave Pavarotti the recognition he needed to launch his
career. He also credited Sutherland with teaching him how to breathe
correctly.
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